Date: Friday, July 18, 2025, 14:00h-15:00h UTC+2 (CEST)
This talk explores a multidisciplinary approach to artistic research at the intersection of sound, technology, and narrative design. Drawing from projects that integrate spatial audio, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and real-time 3D environments, it presents new paradigms for artistic creation in the post-digital era. Featured works include immersive installations, interactive storytelling experiences, and gamified systems that challenge conventional formats of music performance and media art. Through case studies such as Ecstasy / Light / Inertia and Interwoven Existence, the presentation reflects on how emerging tools—from Unreal Engine to VR/AR and motion tracking—enable hybrid forms of expression that dissolve the boundaries between disciplines, technologies, and audiences.
About the speaker:
Prof. Juan Carlos Vasquez boasts a remarkable trajectory as an award-winning composer, video game researcher, and educator. His creations, ranging from spatial audio works to immersive interactive experiences and game art, have resonated across continents, being featured in over 30 countries spanning the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He’s currently an Assistant Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University in China.
Vasquez’s most prominent awards include the Colombian Ministry of Culture’s Contemporary Music Composition Grant and the Audio Engineering Society’s Award for Excellence in Art, Design, and the Production of Sound (both 2016); the highly selective Dean’s Grant for exceptional Master’s achievements from Aalto University (2016); a Finnish government grant for artistic creation (2017); a fully funded five-year doctoral award at the University of Virginia (2018); recognition as Primus Master at Aalto University (2019); and the prestigious Jefferson Fellowship from the University of Virginia (2021). Later, he received a Highly Commended distinction at the Sound of the Year Awards (2022); the Best Computer Music award from the International Computer Music Association (2023); led and curated an exhibition at the renowned Ars Electronica Festival (2024); won Second Prize at Musicacoustica-Hangzhou and the WOCMAT Phil Winsor Award (2024); and took First Prize in Composition at the 35th International Competition Città di Barletta in Italy (2025).
Events and venues featuring Prof. Vasquez’s works include Ars Electronica (AU), the Ateneum Art Museum (FI), the Seoul Arts Center (KR) the Lincoln Center (USA), the Hanshan Art Museum (CN), Berklee College of Music (USA), and Matera Intermedia Festival (IT). He earned his M.A. in New Media from Aalto University in Finland and subsequently completed both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Composition and Computer Technologies from the University of Virginia in the United States.
Website: https://www.jcvasquez.com https://scholar.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/persons/JuanVasquez